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CowboyJMB · 02-22-2006, 02:20 PM

Ok, so I have been wanting to make my Ultimate DOS Machine for playing old games on for a while now. The question was, what I was going to use. I had 3 choices:

1.) Make my own custom machine from scratch.

2.) Use my uncle's old Packard Bell (A 486 Machine)

3.) Somehow find the original 486 that my family had back from my childhood.

#3 is quite impossible actually, as it was an IBM PS/1 (Newer model, NOT the one with the Power Supply in the monitor.) and I have looked all over the net for it with no luck.

#1 was a more likely choice, but then I really didn't feel like doing that, and hunting down ALL the parts I needed.

SO I was going to go with #2, but then on Friday I took another look at my IBM Aptiva (We upgraded to this from the PS/1), and think it will do quite nicely. It is a Pentium machine, and originally had Windows 95 on it. However, DOS games really don't do too well in this, even when you exit out into DOS itself.

So I reformatted the hard drive with the copy of DOS 6.22 that I have, and then loaded Pirates! Gold on as well. I will tell you what, that game worked the best I had ever seen it work since I have had it! Working in a pure DOS environment does wonders for it. So I am going to use this Aptiva as my Ultimate DOS Gaming Machine.

Specs:

2 GB HD
32 MB of RAM
Pentium Processor (133 MHz I think...)
16x CDROM Drive though I am not sure.
3.5in Floppy Drive
MWAVE Soundcard/Modem

This is what I have for now, but I AM thinking about making a few changes. Changes such as putting in a 5¼in floppy drive, and possibly taking out the MWAVE and replacing it with a Sound Blaster 32 card.

I am also going to buy Windows 3.1, and a fresh copy of DOS 6.22. (The copy I have was a copy and the last disk has errors.)

So, I think this could work. Yeah I know, that I could just use a DOS Emulator, but then it kinda takes the fun out of it. Not only the fun of putting it together, but the fun of just having a seperate machine just for that purpose.

I would like comments, and also some help. My problems will be getting the OS's to work with the hardware. The drivers for the video chipset are on the Aptiva CD, but how would I load that so DOS (and in the future Windows 3.1) would recognize it?

Also, concerning the OS, would Windows for Workgroups 3.11 be ok for this? Or do I just want plain 3.1?

02-22-2006, 02:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
CowboyJMB Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: CowboyJMB@PA Posts: 115 OS: Windows XP Professional	Making my Ultimate DOS gaming Machine Ok, so I have been wanting to make my Ultimate DOS Machine for playing old games on for a while now. The question was, what I was going to use. I had 3 choices: 1.) Make my own custom machine from scratch. 2.) Use my uncle's old Packard Bell (A 486 Machine) 3.) Somehow find the original 486 that my family had back from my childhood. #3 is quite impossible actually, as it was an IBM PS/1 (Newer model, NOT the one with the Power Supply in the monitor.) and I have looked all over the net for it with no luck. #1 was a more likely choice, but then I really didn't feel like doing that, and hunting down ALL the parts I needed. SO I was going to go with #2, but then on Friday I took another look at my IBM Aptiva (We upgraded to this from the PS/1), and think it will do quite nicely. It is a Pentium machine, and originally had Windows 95 on it. However, DOS games really don't do too well in this, even when you exit out into DOS itself. So I reformatted the hard drive with the copy of DOS 6.22 that I have, and then loaded Pirates! Gold on as well. I will tell you what, that game worked the best I had ever seen it work since I have had it! Working in a pure DOS environment does wonders for it. So I am going to use this Aptiva as my Ultimate DOS Gaming Machine. Specs: 2 GB HD 32 MB of RAM Pentium Processor (133 MHz I think...) 16x CDROM Drive though I am not sure. 3.5in Floppy Drive MWAVE Soundcard/Modem This is what I have for now, but I AM thinking about making a few changes. Changes such as putting in a 5¼in floppy drive, and possibly taking out the MWAVE and replacing it with a Sound Blaster 32 card. I am also going to buy Windows 3.1, and a fresh copy of DOS 6.22. (The copy I have was a copy and the last disk has errors.) So, I think this could work. Yeah I know, that I could just use a DOS Emulator, but then it kinda takes the fun out of it. Not only the fun of putting it together, but the fun of just having a seperate machine just for that purpose. I would like comments, and also some help. My problems will be getting the OS's to work with the hardware. The drivers for the video chipset are on the Aptiva CD, but how would I load that so DOS (and in the future Windows 3.1) would recognize it? Also, concerning the OS, would Windows for Workgroups 3.11 be ok for this? Or do I just want plain 3.1?